


weekly pastime

by cosmothetic



Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Office, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-11
Updated: 2019-01-27
Packaged: 2019-10-08 09:02:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,364
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17383628
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cosmothetic/pseuds/cosmothetic
Summary: kihyun is looking for change, and a certain co-worker happens to make it a hell lot easier.





	1. start

Kihyun sighed.

Not out of boredom caused by blankly staring at the work in front of him, but because of the change in atmosphere at his workspace ever since his old boss retired 3 months ago. Things became too serious too quickly for his liking.

Therefore, when the clock that’s been ticking menacingly, struck 5 pm, he was already up and heading towards the door. But before he could leave, a sudden idea came to mind, so he turned around and faced his co-workers.

“Anyone down for some bowling?” he asks into the blue, not sure what to expect, but being too desperate to let off some steam to care.

Only a few bother to look up to meet his gaze, while others are solely focused on getting home. Then there is a reply.

“I’ll join.”

Kihyun’s eyes searched for where the voice came from until they landed on… Changkyun. The guy who’s been intimidating him ever since he joined their branch shortly after their boss's leave. Some assume he’s quiet due to him possibly being pretentious, others assume he’s just incredibly shy. Either way, Kihyun isn’t sure what to make of his mysteriousness.

His response definitely caught more people’s attention; however, Changkyun seemed to be oblivious of his peers’ shock.

“Ok. Great,” Kihyun finally gets out, trying his best to seem comfortable.

With that, Changkyun grabs his case and walks up to the flustered boy.

“Your car or mine?”

“Um. I don’t have a car. I normally take the bus.”

“Alright, I don’t mind driving.”

“Great,” once the word leaves Kihyun’s mouth, he makes a mental note not to repeat the word too much.

“Great,” Changkyun says and suddenly a dimple appears. A dimple capable of making Kihyun more flustered than he already was.

Without further adieu, and without exchanging words on their way, they head out.

Kihyun sighs again once they get in the car, this time out of nervousness. He isn’t sure how comfortable this will be for either of them.

“I should warn you… I’m terrible at bowling,” Changkyun slightly breaks the ice.

Kihyun breaks a smile, “Yeah, doubt you could be worse than I am.”

“Sounds like a challenge.”

“Oh no, don’t get me wrong, I’m still going to try to beat you.”

“Competitive, huh?”

“Yes, but don’t think I’m a sore loser.”

“Well, may the best not best player win.”

It doesn’t take long until they get there and after a while they’re at their given lane.

“Seems that I’m first,” Changkyun states. “Let me show you how it’s done.”

Into the gutter the ball goes. Twice; and Kihyun has to do his best to cover up his laugh with his hand.

Changkyun swings around with a pout, but a frown appears once he notices Kihyun and exclaims, “Don’t laugh so fast!”

“Fine, fine. Let’s see if I can show you how it’s really done.”

Gutter. Now Changkyun’s the one who’s laughing. But it doesn’t sound genuine at all; it was the strangest, most high pitched laugh Kihyun has heard in a long time and instead of being angry at his blatant mockery, he just can’t believe the person he found so intimidating can produce such a sound.

Feeling a bit more at ease in the opponent’s company, he throws another ball and manages to knock 7 pins down. With a large grin and fists happily clenched, he turns around to look at Changkyun whose mouth has fallen open.

A few rounds pass and even though the scores remain low, Kihyun is still far in the lead; however, when it comes to who can make the slyest remarks each round, he’d probably be biting the dust.

Changkyun clucks his tongue in disapproval, “Did you really doubt you’ll be better than me?”

“Hey, I’m honestly just as shocked as you are.”

Changkyun chuckles slightly and Kihyun can tell the laugh was genuine this time. He hopes to himself that he’ll hear that sound again… maybe just a few more times.

After a lot of effort and frustration, the game comes to an end and needless to say, Changkyun was not crowned the best not best player title.

“You’re definitely a lot better than I expected,” Changkyun comments as they’re putting their shoes back on.

“And you’re just as bad as I expected, if not worse,” Kihyun replies with an obnoxious tone in his voice that causes Changkyun to look up with a face that doesn’t show any emotion whatsoever.

“I was going to suggest that I treat you to whatever you like considering you won, but you can kiss my ass now.”

“What if your ass is what I wanted as my treat?” is what Kihyun would have thrown back if their relationship wasn’t what it currently is.

“This was enough of a treat for me,” he responded out loud, after struggling to think of something else to say.

“Oh,” is all Changkyun lets out and then, with amazing synchronization, they get up and return to the parking lot.

“You’ll have to direct me to where you live now,” he says once they’ve reached it.

“It’s not far, but are you sure you don’t mind? I’m ok with taking the bus, really.”

“Of course not. I’m thankful to have gone out tonight, so I owe you,” Changkyun assured, though seeming a little apprehensive.

With that, they both shoot a semi-awkward smile at each other before they get in. Kihyun then immediately types his address in naver map and reads the shortest route.

“Got it. I actually know a friend who lives in that area.”

Then there was silence until Changkyun’s curiosity made him speak up.

“So… is this going to be a regular thing?”

“Bowling? Or-”

“I mean, just going out after work regularly, like, every Friday,” Changkyun interrupts. “I’m pretty invested. And I rarely have plans, but I can make sure I’m always free on those days,” he seems a bit fidgety as he speaks, as if he’s afraid he might be mistaken for thinking Kihyun enjoys his company too and would be willing to spend his Friday nights with someone who’s merely a co-worker.

“It can be,” Kihyun’s calm voice instantly and noticeably breaks the tension that arose in Changkyun.

“Great,” Changkyun responds in a just as soft manner.

“Great,” Kihyun says even softer.

 

________________________________

 

 

The next Friday comes around and Changkyun finds himself next to Kihyun in the breakroom where they’ve, as of recently, been spending their lunches together.

“Want to tell me what you got planned for today?”

“Do you like Mexican food?”

Changkyun laughs while Kihyun simply waits for an answer with a puzzled expression.

“Sorry, it’s just, I will eat literally anything.”

“Great,” Kihyun instantly kicks himself in his head for still overusing the word, “I know the perfect place we can go to for it.”

 

________________________________

 

 

The place doesn’t seem to be too busy when the time for their schedule arrived. They went up to order one bowl of nachos, having already agreed that Kihyun will pay for the meal, but not being able to agree on toppings.

“Listen, I don’t consider myself to be picky, but tomatoes are simply not edible,” Changkyun states his belief.

“What if I were to put just a little on one side, would you be ok with that?”

“Alright,” Changkyun sighs, “that’s fair.”

Once they sit down with their tray, Changkyun already opens his mouth to speak again, “I really like the atmosphere here.”

“Right!” Kihyun regrets sounding too excited after saying that, but continues nonetheless, “This is seriously a hidden gem. And I rarely get to come here since my friends’ preferences aren’t the same as mine.”

“Well, if you’re ever looking for someone to join you, you know where to find me,” Changkyun says with a contagious smile.

“Definitely noted,” Kihyun’s smile instinctively grows bigger.

“So,” Changkyun doesn’t seem to be able to keep eye contact for too long, “do we just dig in?”

“Yeah, please, go ahead.”

It's a relatively (as in majorly) sloppy meal. but both don't seem to mind; and even though it’s quiet between them at first, there is not a single sign of discomfort present.

"Tell me," Changkyun stops right after starting to put another nacho in his mouth, then begins again, "what are your absolute passions in life?"

"Photography, maybe cooking," Kihyun replies without having to put much thought into it.

"Oh, really. What kind of pictures do you take?" Changkyun starts to lean in a bit more on his chair.

"I love the sky, the moon in particular, but I think I enjoy taking pictures of my friends and family the most. Capturing moments by capturing them."

"Nice answer."

"What about you?"

"This might sound really silly and you're the first person to know about this, but I enjoy writing poems the most," Changkyun's face looks serious and remains that way after making his confession, but Kihyun's face lights up again.

"I should have figured last week with your sharp comments that you must have a way with words. How admirable."

"Wait, is that sarcasm?"

"No, no, no!" Kihyun quickly reassures, "I'm serious."

"Oh," Changkyun relaxes his shoulders, "maybe we could exchange our art sometime."

"I'd honestly like that very much."

Their smiles for each other become less awkward and their eye contact lasts just a little longer each time. As the topics they discuss get deeper, so does the evening into the night, and they decide it might be time to head back. Without having to mention it, Changkyun drops Kihyun off, outside his apartment building, once again.

"You know, I'm really glad we started doing this, but I feel like a major idiot for not initiating it sooner."

Changkyun shoots another killer-dimple smile, "Goodnight, Kihyun."

"Goodnight, Changkyun."

After getting out of the car, and deciding against the contemplation of whether he should turn around or not, he still can't seem to wipe the smile off his face. Fridays might just be his favourite day of the week now, thanks to this new pastime of his, and maybe thanks to the guy he gets to spend it with.


	2. middle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> idiots yet to become lovers.

The routine has been going on for several weeks now, consisting of things like: going to the cinema to watch a comedy and laughing more at the jokes they make throughout, rather than the actual movie, trying cafes with the most creative names and ranking the coffees from each one (they tried 4 cafes in one day and couldn’t get a wink of sleep that night), as well as visiting art galleries and creating stories for almost every piece.

Their Friday plans have become the highlight of every week for both of them. It’s such a fulfilling time that they’ll start anticipating the next Friday the moment they call it a day. Now it’s Thursday and Kihyun is full of new motivation to take on whatever tasks come his way.

He isn’t sure whether it’s the same for Changkyun, but he can’t help but notice the difference it’s made in his attitude at work and overall. He cannot not wake up in a great mood.

But when he sees Changkyun isn’t at work that day, his heart drops. It’s as if a nimbostratus cloud came out of nowhere and decided to pour right above him.

“Anyone seen Jjangkyunie?”

Everyone looks confused.

“Changkyun?”

Now he’s got them again.

“He called in sick a few minutes ago,” answers Shownu.

“Odd that you wouldn’t be first to know,” Wonho adds under his breath.

“What was that, Wonho?” Kihyun asks, sounding slightly unnecessarily defensive.

“Nothing.”

Kihyun isn’t in the mood for whatever his co-workers have to say and simply proceeds with his work; however, he can’t ignore how empty the place feels now. It pains to even admit it, because Kihyun has never been the type to be this dependent on someone, but there’s also no point in denying it.

He decided he’ll eat alone during lunch when the time came, and of course Wonho didn’t get the memo and takes the seat next to him.

“Be honest,” he starts, “are you and Changkyun a thing?”

“Why do you ask?” Kihyun can’t sound too attacked since he and Wonho are, in some sense, friends (in the office, that is).

“Have you stopped to realise that the two of you are literally dating? With each other? Because I feel like you should know about that, you know, since it involves you…”

His tone is so annoying, Kihyun thinks Wonho must have learnt it from him.

“It’s really not what you think, I mean it,” Kihyun argued. “And I would be the first to know if it was, thanks.”

“Yeah, sure.”

Kihyun rolls his eyes at that.

“So are you going to call him to make sure he’s ok?”

“What do I look like?” Kihyun is frowning now. “Of course I’m going to…”

Wonho gets up with a smirk, “Tell him that I hope he recovers soon, because the hamster is starting to bite again.”

“Go annoy someone else now.” Kihyun successfully badgers at Wonho and calls Changkyun right away; it doesn’t ring too long.

“Hey, I hope you don’t mind me calling," his tone changed immediately.

“Never,” Changkyun’s voice is terribly hoarse and it makes Kihyun worry.

“Are you taking the right medication? Are you eating right? The weather has been cold recently, are you keeping warm? Is it just you there? Is someone looking after you?”

“Woah, woah, woah, slow down,” Changkyun gives out a weak laugh and the sound actually manages to put Kihyun more at ease. It seems to always have that effect.

“Right. Can you tell me if you’re okay?”

“Hopefully soon, but it’s nothing major, so don’t worry. Okay?”

“I can’t promise anything,” is all Kihyun has to say to that.

“I thought you’d only ask about tomorrow, but you really care, huh?”

Kihyun is quiet for a moment. What Changkyun said threw him off guard and he isn’t sure what the right way of responding is.

“Um, don’t mind what I just said. I appreciate the concern.”

“Of course. Is there anything I can do for you? Only if you want me to, obviously.” Kihyun notices how jittery he’s getting and slaps his neck.

“Actually, if you don’t mind, would you maybe come over tonight? That’s if you don’t have plans already or you’d put better things aside in order to take care of your ill co-worker.”

“You can’t seriously think that I think of you as merely a co-worker,” Kihyun speaks in a serious, but reassuring manner. “Anyway, I expect you to message me your address once we’ve finished talking and I’ll be there at whatever time you want me to. Needless to say, but I’ll be providing dinner.”

“Kihyun?”

“Am I still being too much?”

“No,” Changkyun pauses, “I’m just grateful to have a person like you in my life.”

“Well.”

Changkyun laughs again.

“What? What was so funny? I just said well!”

“You’re something else, that’s all. So, see you later then?”

Kihyun has questions in order to find out what exactly that something is, but only responds with “Yes, take care”.

“You too, Kihyunnie.”

 

________________________________

 

 

5pm took its time to arrive, but once it did, Kihyun is out and on his way to the store to get the ingredients for his favourite rice porridge. He just hopes Changkyun will like it too; it’s not like it involves tomatoes.

The next stop would be his own apartment, just to dress more comfortably and take extra medicine in case Changkyun will need it. After that, it’s straight to Changkyun’s place. He has the route open on his phone and is checking every 5 seconds whether he’s still on the right path. Eventually, he finds himself right where he needs to be and once he’s outside the apartment, he takes a deep breath and knocks thrice.

The door opens and he’s greeted by a very small smile, then he realises that he might not get to see the dimple today.

“Come in.”

Kihyun takes a moment to process the surroundings as he enters and takes off his shoes. It looks clean, but could be cleaner. Also, he definitely takes note of the incredibly oversized, fuzzy blue hoodie Changkyun is wearing and admires his sense of fashion when it comes to comfort. The urge to go through his closet arises, but there are more important things to focus on now.

“I was going to say it’s nice to see you again, but it’s only been a day.”

“Nice to see you, too,” and with that, the dimple has its comeback.

“Moving on, at what time would you want dinner? You can go through the grocery bag and say if there’s anything you wouldn’t want to be added to your congee. But if there is, you’ll be on thin ice with your ‘I’ll literally eat anything’, since there’s already one exception.”

“Hey! It’s not my fault tomatoes are the way that they are.”

Kihyun presses his lips together and Changkyun peaks inside the bag that’s now on the kitchen counter.

“Yeah, perfect.”

Kihyun was about to say great again, but decides to say “Good” instead.

“Also, considering it’s already past 6, anytime is fine with me,” Changkyun starts taking out all the equipment Kihyun will need in advance.

“Thanks, I’ll get starting then. You just… lie down.”

“If you insist,” and he’s off.

Kihyun can feel Changkyun’s stare from the couch and when he quickly looks up, Changkyun immediately lies his head down which makes Kihyun chuckle to himself. He knows the circumstances aren’t the best, but this environment is making him astonishingly comfortable. He makes the food with ease, and simply knowing Changkyun’s there, being in his presence and being able to do something for him, is what makes the moment.

A lot of progress is made and then Kihyun informs, “I’ll be done soon; the total time is usually just an hour for me.”

“Impressive.”

“You’re going to have to rate this out of 10, by the way.”

“Can I give a score for taste, effort and then something else I come up with?”

“Knock yourself out!” Kihyun turns around to face the cabinets, “Now where will I find bowls for this?”

“One you’re staring at right now.”

“Yeah, I had a feeling,” Kihyun takes out two for them then, spoons out the congee, grabs the necessary tableware from the drawer he saw Changkyun use earlier, hands over the bowl to the one who’s about to judge and takes an open seat that faces the glass door; a beautiful view in sight, but his eyes are fixed on the other view that’s closer to him.

“Remember to blow,” Kihyun warns and Changkyun only looks up with risen eyebrows.

“Okay, before you say anything, shut up.”

Changkyun does what Kihyun reminded him to do and thinks long and hard after taking his first bite.

“You’re killing me.”

“I need to be certain,” Changkyun isn’t showing any emotion to indicate whether he’s enjoying the food, but his smug expression shows that he’s enjoying annoying the impatient cook.

Kihyun lets out an exasperated sigh.

“Ok. Congee is a 10, effort is a 10, and the person who made it is a solid 9.”

Kihyun’s mouth falls open, “Only 9?!”

“I only said it so you won’t get too cocky, I didn’t think you’d be offended by such a high score,” Changkyun defends himself.

“It feels a bit harsh when everything else got a 10.”

“Fine, if it makes you feel better, you get full marks in my book,” Changkyun admits defeatedly.

Kihyun teases, “In what way exactly? Can you elaborate?”

“Enough. I don’t want your precious porridge to get cold.”

“I can respect that.”

They go back to their meal and Kihyun immediately cleans up once they’ve both finished.

“What do you normally do when you get sick?” Kihyun asks when Changkyun sits by the counter to keep him company.

“Binge watch, eat and sleep. That’s about it. You?”

“I use it as an excuse to have a Disney marathon,” Kihyun can’t believe he just confessed that.

“That’s cute. I’ve actually never seen a Disney movie.”

Kihyun nearly drops a bowl which makes Changkyun’s eyes widen as if he realises he just fucked up.

“Don’t kill me, please.”

“Are you kidding? I can’t let you die before experiencing the magic of Disney!”

“I sense a plan coming,” Changkyun assumes just by looking at Kihyun.

“Next Friday, when you’ve fully recovered, you and me, Disney marathon, my place,” Kihyun demands.

“It’s about time you let me in,” Changkyun smirks.

“Whatever.”

Kihyun eventually finishes and decides he should leave so that he won’t be a burden and allow Changkyun to rest as much as he needs to.

“There’s some medication in the bag in case you might need it,” Kihyun informs him before getting into the lift.

“Thank you. For everything.”

“I’d say I’m always available, but I value my sleep greatly,” Kihyun is surprised at his own response since he genuinely felt touched by being thanked.

Changkyun smiles a smile that can only appear when talking to Kihyun, “Noted.”

Kihyun almost lets the lift’s doors shut, until he remembers to add, “Wait, can you update on me how you’re doing every now and then?”

Changkyun’s ears start to turn red, just because he’s so unfamiliar with having someone care this much.

“I’ll do that then.”

“Great.”

 

________________________________

 

 

Friday felt long, but Changkyun kept spamming Kihyun with pictures of what he was doing and adding nonsensical captions that would result in Kihyun bothering everyone in the office with his giggles.

And it was all fun and games until Changkyun started to send selfies from when he was healthy, acting like he will never look that good again and making Kihyun an overwhelmed mess.

Kihyun isn’t one to deny basic facts, and the fact is that Changkyun is the most attractive person he’s ever laid eyes on.

Eventually, the day, with its profound feelings, passed and when Monday arrived, everything was back to normal. Things were going smoothly again and Kihyun was anticipating the upcoming Friday more than any before. He set up an entire list so that he doesn’t forget a single favourite of his, but he realises he can only make it so long for one night. Regardless, he adds all of them and whatever is left will be watched another time.

Changkyun is fully aware of just how excited Kihyun is, and luckily reciprocates the feeling.

So when Friday arrives and Changkyun is finally introduced to Kihyun’s home, they immediately get the snacks ready and plummet on the couch, in front of the tv.

“I was thinking we can make instant ramen after watching two movies, but if you feel hungry before then, then it doesn’t really matter. Also, we can start drinking once we finished eating. Would you prefer wine or beer?”

“Beer.”

“See, I knew you would say that, so luckily I have supplies in the fridge.”

Changkyun pushes his tongue against his teeth as he smiles, “You always amaze me,” he pauses for a moment, “and you definitely seem like the wine type.”

“I think we’ve established that we know each other pretty well at this point.”

They remain smiling at each other, forgetting about everything else for a moment, until Changkyun snaps out of it, “So, what will we be starting with?”

“Right, of course. I think it would be wise to start with The Lion King followed by Mulan. You ready?”

Changkyun nods enthusiastically and with that, they’re off on their Disney journey. They discuss the first two movies over dinner and Kihyun is adamant on getting Changkyun to admit that he almost cried during The Lion King, because he claims he saw tears forming in his eyes. After getting him to admit that he was, in fact, on the edge, Kihyun decides to bring out the drinks.

“Now we’re getting started,” he adds as he pours in wine for him.

“Let me guess, lightweight?”

“How dare you,” Kihyun scoffs.

Two hours later and Kihyun is drunkenly crying over Coco.

“The message is just so beautiful, you know?” Kihyun says in between sobs.

“I know,” Changkyun tries his best to comfort him and lets him finish crying into his shoulder while rubbing his back.

Kihyun breathes out slowly and sits upright, trying to compose himself to the best of his ability, “Sorry about that, do you want to watch another one?”

“I’d love to.”

Kihyun then puts The Jungle Book on and moves closer to Changkyun.

“This is my favourite one,” his voice was low but vehement.

It only takes Kihyun 30 minutes into the movie to fall asleep, head resting on Changkyun’s shoulder.

Despite being painfully aware of how his insides are in a flutter thanks to the boy being so close to him, Changkyun continues to watch diligently, knowing how important the movie is.

When the credits finally roll in, he switches off the screen and decides he has no other option but to carry the sleeping (and not even that wasted) beauty, bridal style.

The room isn’t hard to find, and he places Kihyun on the bed so gently, as if he’s the most precious and delicate thing in existence.

Something still feels missing, so he goes to the kitchen to fill a glass with water and leaves it on the bedside table.

Kihyun seems out like a candle and Changkyun bends down to examine him. It feels odd to see him, who’s always chirping, in such a quiet, peaceful state. He thinks that it would be a good idea to go back to the living room so that he doesn’t disrupt the peace, but the moment he wants to get up to leave, he feels the sudden grip of a soft hand around his wrist. Looking in front of him, he sees that Kihyun’s eyes are slowly starting to open, although not much.

“I assume you’ll stay the night, but stay with me.”

“Are you asking me to keep sitting on the ground like this?” Changkyun kids, but is burning up at Kihyun’s request; it feels more intense than the fever he recovered from just the other day.

“Dummy. I mean in my bed. With me.”

Changkyun is losing his ability to speak.

“I guess I could.”

Kihyun moves up to make space for Changkyun, “I’m big spoon.”

“Perfect,” Changkyun gets in his place and his heart is pounding in his throat.

After a while, he assumes Kihyun must be out again, but he wants to savour the moment just a little more; He’s never felt this sense of comfort and he swears he wouldn’t mind if they could stay this way forever.

“You’re everything I tried to find,” Kihyun says out of the blue, and sounding like he’s about to fall asleep again any moment now, and startling Changkyun once more.

He chooses not to respond and despite it feeling like those words could keep him up all night, it doesn’t take him long to find himself drifting off in Kihyun’s warm embrace. When he wakes up before the latter, he gets up to write a note so that he can leave with that. He isn’t sure what he’s feeling, but it’s definitely not good. Never before has he been in this position with these feelings for someone, and it hasn’t been a problem until now. For the first time, he wonders if Kihyun might possibly feel the same way he does, and he isn’t fond of this way of thinking and the lack of clarity in general.

If his false hope causes him to confess and it turns out Kihyun’s feelings are solely platonic, he won’t know what to do after ruining his relationship with the person he’s closest to.

It scares him too much. He quickly writes a note to thank Kihyun for the previous night, and then he, with his mind still in a cluttered state, heads out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks to those still reading and interested in where this is going!!


	3. the real start

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> we all can get a little lost sometimes.

Confusion washes over Kihyun when he wakes up.

He isn’t sure whether he dreamt of sharing his bed with Changkyun, or if that actually happened.

There luckily isn’t a headache dragging him down, so he gets up rather easily to have breakfast. That’s when he comes across a note that’s been stuck on his fridge:

“Thank you for the memorable night. P.S. my favourite was Wreck-It Ralph, but I enjoyed watching The Jungle Book the most.”

Kihyun smiles as he’s reading it, feeling less guilty for how the night came to an end.

He sends Changkyun a message to thank and apologise to him, but by the time he’s in his bed again, he still hasn’t heard anything from him.

It feels rather unusual since Changkyun is the one who is normally causing Kihyun’s phone to overflow with notifications. Not wanting to overthink and worry over what could be nothing, Kihyun tries to fall asleep with hope that he might wake up to a reply.

Next day, and still nothing. Kihyun is bothered at this point, but doesn’t want to breathe down Changkyun’s neck. For the whole day, all he can do is worry that he may have said or done something that he can’t remember and that may have led Changkyun to distance himself. The note didn’t seem to indicate that he did something terrible, at least, but there’s still the possibility that Changkyun might feel uncomfortable with him now. Panic is getting to him, but he doesn’t want to take it out in messages and possibly come across as over paranoid.

Monday comes, and he’s conflicted about how he should feel: relieved that he might see Changkyun, or anxious for the same reason.

When he finally gets to work, he lets out a sigh, which he decides is out of relief, when he spots Changkyun sitting at his desk.

As he begins to approach him, he hears his name being called from the manager’s office. By only swinging his left leg, he turns around and walks to where the voice came from.

“What can I do for you, sir?” He asks after closing the door.

“Please, take a seat.”

He does as insisted and gulps unintentionally loud.

“The reason I called you in is because of your performance these last few months.”

Kihyun pulls his eyebrows together while waiting for him to continue.

“It’s outstanding, to say the least. Which is why you have been promoted to work as head of sales at the branch in Seoul.”

“Serious?” Kihyun regrets the rhetorical question immediately.

“Very much so.”

Kihyun gulps again. He wasn’t completely blind to how he’s improved, but didn't consider to which extent.

“May I get back to you on this?”

“Sure, but you will have to give me an answer by the end of the week," his boss informs.

“Thank you very much,” with that, he gets up and instead of walking to Changkyun, he goes back to his own desk. His head is utterly blank. 

 

________________________________

 

 

For break, Kihyun decides to go out in the parking lot. His thoughts are all over the place. While contemplating the offer on the nearest bench, he notices a shadow hovering above him. He looks up and smiles once his eyes meet Changkyun’s. Without saying anything, he sits down next to Kihyun, both looking ahead of them.

“Sorry for not getting back to you,” Changkyun breaks the silence; another tendency he has.

“It’s alright,” Kihyun doesn’t want to make eye contact and shifts his sight to the ground. He starts to doubt his own words now. He was hoping for an explanation, even though he knows Changkyun doesn’t really owe him one.

“So, what was that about?”

“Oh, right,” he pauses, “I kind of got a promotion.”

“What?!” Changkyun’s change in tone makes him sound more like himself, “That’s great, Kihyun!”

“I’d have to move to Seoul, though.”

“Oh,” Changkyun’s tone lowers drastically.

“Yeah.”

“Did you take it?” Changkyun asks carefully.

“I’m still deciding… but I only have until Friday. Honestly, the difference in pay isn’t that major, and Seoul scares me. I feel like I could lose myself there. I don’t know. What do you think?”

Changkyun takes a few seconds before he starts, “I think that it isn’t up to me. This could possibly be a great situation that opens more doors for you, but it’s not to say that it will be the only opportunity for that. You should just do what you feel is right at this moment in time. You don’t have to deal with what follows just yet. As long as you’re happy.”

Kihyun is short of a response. Despite appreciating Changkyun’s insight, he wishes he could have received a yes/no answer. He’s never been fond of lack of clarity.

He gets up, but before he walks away, he stops in front of Changkyun and cocks his head to the side to look at him, “Sometimes I really wonder if you’re younger than me. Only sometimes.”

The corners of Changkyun's mouth turn upwards, but something is off, and Kihyun leaves with a troubled heart.

 

________________________________

 

They don’t contact each other the next few days like they normally would; instead, when it’s time to pack up and go, Changkyun would simply do a thumbs up, down and middle (which is his way of asking where the offer stands) and to which Kihyun would respond with the neutral gesture.

When it’s Thursday and Kihyun chooses the same sign before they head out, Changkyun asks, “Keeping it last minute?”

“I’ll know tomorrow.”

Before they separate ways outside, Kihyun grabs Changkyun’s wrist, making him turn around to face him.

“When I message you goodnight, I want you to tell me what you personally feel about this whole thing. I won’t read it until I’ve given my official answer, but I need you to do that for me. Please.”

Changkyun nods, and they part.

 

________________________________

 

It’s a very long night, but Kihyun does eventually manage to fall asleep and in the morning, he feels convinced about what his decision will be.

Walking into the office, he notices Changkyun’s seat is empty. He starts to wonder about the message, but he shakes the thought off quickly; he knows what he should do first.

With his chin up, he goes in, takes a seat, and declines the promotion.

“Are you absolutely sure?” His boss asks with furrowed brows, “Is anyone pressuring you to not take it?”

“No, sir. This was entirely my decision. I improved because of what I found here, so I’m going to hold onto it a bit more.”

“I see,” his expression relaxes. “Keep up the good work then.”

“Will do, sir.”

Once Kihyun is back at his desk, he immediately pulls out his phone, takes a deep breath, and opens the one unread message:

“If you really want to know how I feel, then I’ll tell you. As selfish as it sounds, I don’t want you to go. I want to have you around all the time. It’s obvious to state that our Fridays make my week, but just seeing you at the office makes my day; it’s crazy how long weekends feel without you and the bare thought of more days like that pains me. I want you to be happy and I believe you can stay happy with me. Just the way we are. I want to be enough for you. I hope you won’t take this the wrong way, because I don’t mean to make it about what I want, you just need to be doing what’s best for you and I’ll do my best to support you and stay by your side. I hope you will allow me to.”

Kihyun becomes aware of the tears forming in his eyes after finishing. He couldn’t be more relieved, but he could definitely be happier if only Changkyun was there. Without much thought, he tries to call him, but he gets directed to voicemail.

“Hey, so my plan is to be at the bridge at Jungoe Park at 8 pm. I hope to see you there. Remember to wear lots of padding if you do come. Ok. Bye," he manages to get out without jabbering.

After getting through all his tasks, he’s finally heading to the decided location. He may not have gotten a reply again, but he has faith that Changkyun will be there; he needs him to be there. He so desperately wants to go back to the way things were with the person who’s given him the most genuine sense of euphoria. He still can’t properly fathom just how important Changkyun’s become for him.

He’s gradually starting to get emotional again, but with perfect timing, the bridge comes into sight and he can see someone sitting on the bottom step. It’s him. It doesn’t take Changkyun long to look up to notice Kihyun who’s approaching him at a rather quick pace, and he gets up, doing the hand gestures again.

Kihyun stops in his tracks. A wide smile spreads across his face as he points both thumbs down with stretched out arms, and then he starts running forward to Changkyun who’s standing with his arms wide open as an invitation for him.

Almost diving into him, Kihyun holds onto Changkyun as tightly as he possibly can, as if he's clinging on for dear life. Changkyun slightly lifts him off the ground and they both turn into giggling messes. Kihyun moves his head so he can look at Changkyun and then, being as lost in the moment as he is, he kisses him. Hard. And the warmth feels vigorous enough to make him melt.

When he pulls away, their foreheads are still touching.

“Um. I didn’t really plan that part," he admits sheepishly.

“I’ve loved your spontaneous moments since day one,” Changkyun confesses.

“I’ve loved you since day one,” Kihyun instantly blushes at the cheesiness that just came out of his own mouth, but Changkyun’s laugh puts him at ease and he even joins in.

“You make it too easy for me to love you.”

“Sounds like a good thing,” Kihyun smirks, feeling confident again.

“It’s a great thing.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO. that was that. my first ever chaptered fic... not much depth, but thanks to those who still read it! I'll try my best to write more stories people can enjoy :) I have some in mind rn that I hope I will have time for!

**Author's Note:**

> oh boy... i'm still fixing my first fic's errors, my future hyungki fic is still on hold, and now i have this. i really hope i'm going somewhere with it, because i'm having a lot of fun with this pair. i have 3 chapters in mind so far... keep having to remind myself that uni starts soon, though. brilliant timing.


End file.
